Prisoners escape from Afghan jail after Taliban attack

Friday, June 13, 2008

Almost all the prisoners kept in Kandahar jail have escaped after the building was attacked by Taliban militants. Police have reported that "a suicide attacker drove his way into the main gate of the prison, it was very strong and destroyed the gate and two sides of the surrounding wall." About 350 militants participated in the attack, and 15 guards were killed, while about 1,000 prisoners escaped.

The Taliban used a combination of two suicide bombers and roughly 30 other militants on motorcycles with rockets and small-arms to attack the prison. The suicide bombers destroyed the main gate to the prison, as well as a wall. Afterwards, the other militants engaged in a massive gun attack on the prison guards, allowing prisoners to escape.

A state of emergency has been declared throughout Kandahar province, as large numbers of both Afghan and NATO forces have been deployed to track down the escaped prisoners.

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Sources

Sayed Salahuddin. "Nearly all prisoners flee Kandahar jail - officials" — Reuters, June 13, 2008
Taliban prisoners freed in Afghan prison suicide attack: officials <broken link> [archived version] — AFP, June 13, 2008
"Taleban jail raid frees hundreds" — BBC, June 14, 2008
Manhunt follows Taliban jail attack <broken link> — Al-Jazeera, June 14, 2008

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